Evidence for successful gastric perfusion computed tomography with low-radiation dose.

Objective: To investigate how the blood flow analysis changes by varying the radiation dose of gastric perfusion CT (PCT) and to prove that a low-radiation dose of PCT is feasible.

Methods: 5 Beagle dogs were used in a crossover study with 6 groups of varying radiation doses. Iodixanol was IV administered at 3.

Peritoneal chemotherapy delivery systems for ovarian cancer treatment: systematic review of animal models.

Introduction: Intraperitoneal chemotherapy for ovarian cancer treatment has controversial benefits as most methodologies are associated with significant morbidity. We carried out a systematic review to compare tumor response, measured by tumor weight and volume, between intraperitoneal chemotherapy delivered via drug delivery systems (DDSs) and free intraperitoneal chemotherapy in animal models of ovarian cancer. The secondary aim was to assess the toxicity of DDS-delivered chemotherapy, based on changes in animal body weight.

The serum amyloid A to C-reactive protein ratio is lower in men than in women because of higher-C-reactive protein concentrations in men.

Objectives: We previously found that discrepancy between serum amyloid A (SAA) and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels linked to the difference of SAA/CRP ratio in patients with early rheumatoid arthritis, and the ratio varied among different patients. This study aimed to determine why the SAA/CRP ratio differed among different patients.

Methods: The patients (n=466) with most of inflammatory diseases were enrolled.

DNA damage triggers the death of green sea turtle-derived cells at high temperature.

As temperatures rise due to increasingly severe global warming, the effect of high temperatures on wildlife, including green sea turtles, is one of the issues that must be addressed to ensure the conservation of biodiversity. In the current study, we found that green sea turtle cell death due to apoptosis occurred at 37 °C, which suppressed cell proliferation. We also found that high temperature-induced heat stress led to the accumulation of DNA damage in green sea turtle cells.

Pitfalls in the analysis conditions of canine brain perfusion computed tomography.

This study aimed to investigate the impact of selected analysis conditions on blood flow values and color maps in canine brain perfusion computed tomography (PCT) and to propose optimal analysis conditions. Dynamic computed tomography imaging was performed on six beagle dogs. Color maps were generated using a combination of analysis algorithms (box-modulation transfer function (Box-MTF) and singular value deconvolution plus (SVD+) methods), slice thicknesses (4.

Exercise-induced methylation of the Serhl2 promoter and implication for lipid metabolism in rat skeletal muscle.

Objectives: Environmental factors such as physical activity induce epigenetic modifications, with exercise-responsive DNA methylation changes occurring in skeletal muscle. To determine the skeletal muscle DNA methylation signature of endurance swim training, we used whole-genome methylated DNA immunoprecipitation (MeDIP) sequencing.

Methods: We utilized endurance-trained rats, cultured L6 myotubes, and human skeletal muscle cells, employing MeDIP sequencing, gene silencing, and palmitate oxidation assays.

Seroprevalence in Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients with Interstitial Lung Disease.

Background: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is complicated with interstitial lung disease (ILD). Gastroesophageal reflux disease is prevented by infection and is a predisposing factor for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. However, the prevalence of infection in RA patients with ILD has not been sufficiently investigated.

Reduction of urinary felinine in domestic cats with renal diseases leads to decreased catty odor.

Cats with progressive renal diseases often exhibit a weakened urinary odor, in contrast to normal cat urine which emits odorants with catty odor, such as 3-mercapto-3-methyl-1-butanol, 3-mercapto-3-methylbutyl formate, 3-methyl-3-methylthio-1-butanol, and 3-methyl-3-(2-methyldisulfanyl)-1-butanol. Felinine, an amino acid, is a precursor of these odorants and metabolized from its precursor, 3-methylbutanol glutathione (MBG), via 3-methylbutanol-cysteinylglycine (MBCG). While previous studies have reported felinine excretion in normal cats, its levels in cats with renal diseases remain unclear.

Canine regional gastric blood flow measurement using perfusion computed tomography.

This study aimed to determine the feasibility of using perfusion computed tomography (CT) to assess blood flow in different regions of the stomach in dogs. Dynamic perfusion CT scans were conducted on five beagle dogs, and blood flow analysis was performed using the maximum slope and Patlak plot methods. The findings revealed significant variations in blood flow among the fundus, body, and pylorus of the stomach.

[A Case of Spontaneous Rupture of a Metastatic Renal Tumor Caused by Hepatocellular Carcinoma].

TA 51-year-old Japanese man presented with a history of percutaneous transhepatic portal veinembolization, right hepatic lobectomy for hepatocellular carcinoma, and left upper pulmonary lobectomy forpulmonary metastasis of hepatocellular carcinoma. Owing to the elevated tumor marker levels,ultrasonography and fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography-computed tomography (FDG-PETCT) were performed, which revealed a left renal tumor 24 mm in diameter with FDG accumulation ;accordingly, renal metastasis of hepatocellular carcinoma was diagnosed. Localized radiofrequencyablation (RFA) was scheduled due to the absence of metastases other than that in the left kidney.

Serum Anti-Aminoacyl-Transfer Ribonucleic Acid Synthetase Antibody Levels Are Involved in Rheumatoid Arthritis Complicated with Interstitial Lung Disease.

A common complication in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is interstitial lung disease (ILD). Antibodies (Abs) to anti-aminoacyl-transfer ribonucleic acid synthetase (ARS) are linked to ILD in patients with idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IIM). There have been limited studies of anti-ARS Abs in RA.

Bilateral C1/2 synovial cysts causing cervicogenic headache.

Cervical synovial cysts, while uncommon, occur frequently at the C1/2 level. However, bilateral cysts at this level have not been previously reported. We report a 77-year-old man with cervicogenic headache caused by bilateral C1/2 synovial cysts.

Quantitative Comparison of Age-Related Development of Oral Functions During Growing Age.

Objectives: This cross-sectional study aimed to investigate the age-related development of five major oral functions-tongue pressure, lip pressure, masticatory efficiency, bite force, and occlusal contact area-in subjects aged 5-20 years.

Material And Methods: Ninety-two subjects were divided into four age groups: 5-8, 9-12, 13-16, and 17-20 years. Oral functions were evaluated using standardized methods, including Chew Check Gum for assessing masticatory efficiency, Dental Prescale II for measuring occlusal force and contact area, JMS tongue pressure measuring device for evaluating tongue pressure, and Ripple-Kun for measuring lip pressure.

Possible Case of Elderly-onset Intestinal Behçet's Disease with Trisomy 8 Following COVID-19 Vaccination Exacerbated by COVID-19 Infection.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines are effective in reducing the prevalence of this disease. However, some patients develop autoimmune diseases after vaccination. We herein report a case of elderly onset intestinal Behçet's disease (BD) with trisomy 8 following COVID-19 vaccination in which the disease was exacerbated by COVID-19 infection.

Greater impact of COVID-19 on peer-supported addiction services than government-owned services for addiction in Japan: A nationwide 3-year longitudinal cohort study.

Aim: This study aims to investigate how the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic impacted service provision of peer-supported addiction services, such as self-help groups or recovery houses and government-owned addiction healthcare services, in Japan, as well as the quality of their interaction.

Methods: An online survey was distributed to all 69 public regional healthcare facilities (Mental Health and Welfare Centers [MHWCs]) across the 47 prefectures of Japan annually from 2021 to 2023, totaling three surveys. The survey asked about: (1) the current status of addiction healthcare services at each center, (2) the current status of peer-supported addiction services within each center's area, and (3) changes in connectivity between centers and peer-supported addiction services.

Nivolumab in Patients with Metastatic Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer with and without DNA Repair Defects.

Purpose: Despite the success of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) across various cancers, their efficacy in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) is modest, except for a subset of patients who experience significant, yet unpredictable, benefits. DNA repair defects (DRD) are associated with higher neoantigen load, which may predict response. Our study explored the potential of DRD for enhanced responsiveness to the ICI nivolumab.

Real-world outcomes of stage II and III colorectal cancers treated by postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy based on the mismatch repair status.

Purpose: In Japan, immunohistochemistry for mismatch repair (MMR) proteins targeted at stage II and III colorectal cancers (CRCs) has been covered by national insurance since October, 2022. This study aimed to clarify the long-term outcomes of patients with stage II and III CRCs receiving postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy based on their MMR status.

Methods: The outcomes of 640 patients who underwent radical surgery for stage II and III CRCs were analyzed retrospectively.

Custom target-sequencing in triple-negative and luminal breast cancer from young Brazilian patients.

Objectives: To identify somatic mutations in tumors from young women with triple-negative or luminal breast cancer, through targeted sequencing and to explore the cancer driver potential of these gene variants.

Methods: A customized gene panel was assembled based on data from previous sequencing studies of breast cancer from young women. Triple-negative and luminal tumors and paired blood samples from young breast cancer patients were sequenced, and identified gene variants were searched for their driver potential, in databases and literature.

Substrate specificity of commercial lipases activated by a hydration-aggregation pretreatment in anhydrous esterification reactions.

Substrate specificity in non-aqueous esterification catalyzed by commercial lipases activated by hydration-aggregation pretreatment was investigated. Four microbial lipases from Rhizopus japonicus, Burkholderia cepacia, Rhizomucor miehei, and Candida antarctica (fraction B) were used to study the effect of the carbon chain length of saturated fatty acid substrates on the esterification activity with methanol in n-hexane. Hydration-aggregation pretreatment had an activation effect on all lipases used, and different chain length dependencies of esterification activity for lipases from different origins were demonstrated.

Use of computed tomography to evaluate pelvic canal in cats.

The objective of this study was to establish an evaluation technique for the feline pelvic cavity using computed tomography (CT). Client-owned cats with a normal pelvis (n = 50) or pelvic stenosis (n = 3) were included. We categorized pelvic CT images in the normal pelvis group into two types according to pelvic cavity shape, then calculated the sacral index (SI), pelvic canal area (PCA), and PCA/sacral width index (PSI).

Adaptation potential of H3N8 canine influenza virus in human respiratory cells.

In 2004, the equine-origin H3N8 canine influenza virus (CIV) first caused an outbreak with lethal cases in racing greyhounds in Florida, USA, and then spread to domestic dogs nationwide. Although transmission of this canine virus to humans has not been reported, it is important to evaluate its zoonotic potential because of the high contact opportunities between companion dogs and humans. To gain insight into the interspecies transmissibility of H3N8 CIV, we tested its adaptability to human respiratory A549 cells through successive passages.

Possible usefulness of fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography in diagnosing polyarteritis nodosa: A case report and literature review.

Polyarteritis nodosa (PAN) is a systemic rheumatic disease that affects medium-sized arteries. PAN is typically not associated with anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies and has no serological surrogate markers. Therefore, its diagnosis requires pathological findings.

Association of rare single nucleotide variant MUC5B rs35705950 with interstitial lung disease in Japanese rheumatoid arthritis.

Objectives: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is sometimes complicated by interstitial lung disease (ILD) with a poor prognosis. A single nucleotide variant (SNV) in MUC5B was associated with ILD in European RA patients. However, associations of this SNV were not found in Japanese RA patients, because its frequency in Japanese populations is very low.